


Have You Found What You're Looking For? | (HS Athlete!Frankie "Catfish" Morales x YearbookPhotographer!FemaleReader)

by djndjarin



Category: Pedro Pascal - Fandom, frankie morales - Fandom, triple frontier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Athlete!FrankieMorales, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, High School AU, Mentions of Police - Freeform, Mentions of alcohol, Mentions of drugs, Strangers to Lovers, Unrequited Love Maybe? I Haven't Decided..., YearbookPhotographer!Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djndjarin/pseuds/djndjarin
Summary: His life was none of your business even if you worked for the school newspaper. Your job was to report on actual things of importance, not Frankie Morales’s sex life.
Relationships: F/M - Relationship, Francisco "Catfish" Morales & Reader, Francisco "Catfish" Morales/Reader, Francisco "Catfish" Morales/You, Frankie Morales & Female Reader, frankie morales/reader
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter One: Come As You Are

_**February 1st | 8:43am** _

It wasn’t every day that you overslept and were late to school. You’d only missed your first period class a handful of times in your three and a half years of high school.

_ But it also wasn’t every day that you ran into the star player of the Varsity baseball team, clearly hungover. _

There he was… The Frankie Morales.

You didn’t have a crush on him, there wasn’t anything to crush on. He was a player, he was popular, and he would probably never waste a breath on talking to you. You just wanted to- well- study him, know him. You’d seen him at every game, which means you’d seen his talent first hand. You knew he probably had a scholarship to some expensive school, where he’d only get better and eventually go professional. It was only a matter of time.

You watched as he got out of his car, threw on his sunglasses, fixed his jacket, and headed towards the campus. You figured he had spent the night in some cheerleader’s bed, he was notorious for that. You tried not to assume, it was none of your business even if you worked for the school newspaper. Your job was to report on actual things of importance, not Frankie Morales’s sex life.

You decided to sit in your car for another short while since you’d prefer to miss first period all together instead of walking in awkwardly late. When there were only a couple of minutes left until passing period, you decided to make your way to the campus supervisor's office for a late pass. But of course, you had forgotten your hoodie in the car and only had your long sleeve to keep you warm. You hadn’t noticed until it was far too late to turn back.

You sighed in relief though as you entered the office. It was warm… and even warmer once you noticed Frankie sitting in the waiting area. For a second, you wanted to say something to him, like you knew him. Instead, you just turned your back to him and faced the front desk. As you signed the sign-in sheet, you heard one of the supervisors call Frankie’s name.

“Alright, Morales! Let’s go.”

You had to resist the urge to watch him walk away. He was so… captivating. He had everyone wrapped around his finger, even the staff. You could guess that he had dozens of tardies, but no one ever felt right punishing him. It was repulsive. He was just another jock.

You thanked the lady at the desk and prepared yourself to walk back out into the cold where you planned to wait nearby until the bell rang. As soon as you got outside though, you wished you had stayed in the office for warmth. Frankie was still outside, waiting for the golf cart’s windshield to defrost. You hoped he wouldn’t notice you, you knew he wouldn’t.

It felt like every couple of seconds you were checking your wrist watch and then clutching your arms to your chest again. Time was going painfully slow this morning. You thought maybe you could get a headstart to class when all of a sudden,

“Hey.” You heard from behind you.

_ There was no way. _

You turned to find Frankie taking off his sunglasses and holding out his hand to shake yours. You could see the bags under his eyes, but you decided to ignore them, for his sake. You were sure the last thing he needed was some nobody reminding him he looked like hell and reeked of beer. For a second, you almost felt concerned for him.

“Hi- uhm, I’m Frankie… Morales. You might know me, I’m on the baseball team.” He told you.

He was more awkward than you had imagined.

“Hi, yeah- of course. You’re the star.” You babbled.

_ “You’re the star?” You thought to yourself. What a joke. _

“That’s what they tell me.” He laughed.

“Anyway, I came over to ask if you would take my sweater? I can tell you’re freezing.” He explained.

“I’m okay, thank you.” You replied kindly, wanting to end the conversation. 

_ Were you… afraid of him? _

“Would you at least let us give you a ride then… to class?” He asked, sweetly.

“Thank you again… but I’m okay. You have to get to class, don’t you, Morales?” You joked.

He chuckled. “I guess I do... Y/L/N.”

Confusion spread across your face as he walked away.

“Wait! You know who I am?” You asked, maybe a little too excitedly.

“Of course I do. Y/N, right? You were on Yearbook last year, I saw you at all of our games…” He explained, wanting to avoid sounding creepy.

“Yeah, I- uhm- I take pictures for the school paper.” You stumbled.

“I figured that out…you didn’t think I was the only star on this campus, did you, Y/N?” He winked.

You blushed as he walked away once again, only to see him turn back to you.

“Come on, get in! We’re going to be late!” He shouted over the school bell.

-

As he and the campus supervisor dropped you off in front of your second period class, Frankie jumped out of the seat with you. You expected this to be a one-time thing- like most of his encounters with girls- but instead, he surprised you.

“We’re doing a scrimmage today… after school. It’d be cool if you could come, y’know… to take pictures? We could go out to eat afterward.” He proposed.

_ Did you even have to think about it? A date? With The Frankie Morales? _

“Sure- yeah! I’ll be there.” You smiled.

“Good! I’ll see you then, don’t forget to bring your camera!” He shouted from the golf cart.

“Wait! What do I wear?” You shouted back.

“Just come as you are!” He shouted as the cart sped away.

You laughed as he disappeared into a sea of students.

_ How in the hell were you supposed to get through the day now? _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter Two: Let's Fall In Love For The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader and Frankie go on their after school "date".

_ You could never tell -anyone- about your little date with Frankie Morales, especially the newspaper staff. If you guys ran a gossip page...? This would have been all over the front cover. _

**_February 1st | 4:33pm_ **

“So… the Yearbook, huh? How’s it coming along?” He asked, taking a drink from his energy drink and wiping his mouth.

The two of you had decided on a small sandwich shop near the school.

“It’s pretty much done, actually… In its final stages before we print.” You explained.

“Yeah? What about the newspaper? Anything exciting?” He asked.

“You tell me! You don’t read your own school newspaper, Morales?” You joked, nobody ever read it.

His head fell forward in defeat as he ate a potato chip.

“I’m a busy man!” He argued.

“So I’ve heard!” You retorted, laughing.

“Yeah? What is it that you’ve heard about me?” He raised his eyebrows as he stole a french fry from your plate.

“I… It was a joke.” You claimed, not wanting to come off as rude.

“Y/N… I hear the rumors too, you know… Even if they are about me.” He said, showing an indifference to the matter.

“Is that all they are… I mean… rumors?” You asked curiously, though you weren’t sure why you cared.

“Are you asking as a friend?” He asked, now looking sad, maybe nervous about confronting the rumors and opening up to you about the truth.

“Of course...” You reassured him, placing your hands on his between the two of you.

He met your eyes and for a second, you felt like he was real. Everything you thought you knew about him faded away.

_ You cared about him, more than you wanted to admit. You always had. _

“Which rumors are we talking about?” He started.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know… I don’t mind. I want you to know me… the real Frankie.” He explained sincerely.

_ Maybe he cared about you too. _

“Did you- uhm- really get accepted to Duke? I mean… you’re the best player in the county, I’m sure you did.”

He laughed, “So, you think highly of me? One of few, Y/L/N... I’ll give you that.”

He took another sip of his drink before speaking again, “But, no, Florida State, actually. I’m moving out there in May… they want me to start training as soon as possible for the season.” He told you.

“May?” You asked. “Before graduation?” You tried not to sound disappointed.

“Yeah… It wasn’t the best deal to make… but I didn’t have any other options.” He scratched his stubble.

_ You imagined what he looked like without it. _

“Y/N?” He snapped his fingers in front of your face, pulling you from your thoughts.

  
“Sorry… I just- I can’t believe you won’t be here for graduation.” You let your emotions show.

He leaned back in his seat and watched your sad eyes as you played with your napkin.

“Just means we have to make the most of the time we have left, right?” He proposed.

You gave him a smile as you nodded.

“C’mon, let’s take a walk! I’ll tell you anything else you want to know.” He told you, standing up and extending his hand out to you.

_ How could you say no to him? _

-

“So… the cheerleaders… have you actually… you know…” You joked shyly as the two of you made it to the playground down the street.

You’d walked a couple laps around the park before deciding to sit somewhere. Frankie laughed at your question.

“Have I actually what?” He pried.

“Well! You know…” You said again.

“Actually, Y/N, I don’t.” He bluffed.

“Morales! You said you’d tell me anything.” You smacked his shoulder as the two of you sat on the swingset.

“Okay, okay! Fine! No, I haven’t… Except...” He started to say.

“Except?” You pried.

“It may be a possibility that I… you know… with one of them.” He admitted awkwardly.

“Yeah? That’s not too bad, nothing to be embarrassed over.” You assured him.

“Thing is… I… Well- I was high, it was a mistake. Nothing good came from it.” He admitted, sharing a piece of himself that you were sure he had never told anyone before.

“I didn’t know, I’m sorry.” You offered.

“Don’t be… I mean, how could you have known? I don’t even think she knew.” He told you, pain evident in his voice.

“Do you still do that… get high I mean?” You asked cautiously, knowing you may be overstepping.

“I-” He was cut off by one of his teammates walking by the playground.

“Fish! Caught another one did you?” They joked to him.

“Fuck off, Benny!” He retorted.

You laughed.

“Fish? What kind of nickname is that?” You quipped.

He laughed.

“That’s another story for another time, Y/N… I gotta get home soon, my mom will kill me if she doesn’t know where I am.” He explained.

“Okay… we should uhm- do this again sometime?” You proposed nervously.

“No kidding, you’re the best company I’ve had in months...It uh- means a lot that you gave me a chance.” He acknowledged.

You smiled as you got up and offered him your hand to help him off the swing.

“I’ll walk you back to your car before I head home.” He sweetly offered, picking up his backpack.

“Morales! You gotta get home! I can handle myself.” You promised him, flashing your small bottle of pepper spray attached to your keychain.

“Atta girl, come here.” He pulled you in for a hug.

“Thank you… I mean it.” He spoke quietly.

You smiled and slowly pulled away from the hug, lingering inches from his face.

“I’ll… see you tomorrow… Fish.” You giggled.

He humoredly sighed, “Please, call me Frankie!”

-

**_8:47pm_ **

As you were getting ready to settle in for the night, your father opened your door and held the house phone out to you.

“There’s a call for you, says he’s someone named… Fish? You know him?”

You laughed and took the phone from his hands.

“Yes, dad. He’s a friend from school.” You explained, shooing him away with your hand kindly.

Once he was gone, you held the phone to your ear.

“Frankie?” You asked.

“Hey, Y/N… Sorry to call so late.” He apologized.

“No! No worries, what’s up? How did you even get my number?” You laughed again.

“Friends of friends… I just… I wouldn’t have gone searching for it if it wasn’t important.” He explained.

“Okay… So, what is it?” You questioned, getting nervous now.

“Well… You know there’s that Valentine’s Day dance coming up next week… All the guys have dates and I wasn’t gonna go, but…” He cut himself off.

“You don’t have to come with me if that’s- I know you probably don’t like those kinds of things.” He spoke softly.

_ He was right… You weren’t in love with school dances. You’d covered enough of them for the Yearbook over the years that you’d be happy to never attend one again… But somehow… You were compelled to say yes. _

Though, you had to interrupt his babbling to get him to listen to you.

“Frankie! I’ll go, okay? We can go. I’d love to be your date.” The words hit you as you said them outloud.

“What- really?” He asked in disbelief.

“Of course… Only for the popularity points…” You joked.

“Oh, come on!” You laughed together.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

“You know something?” He started.

“Hm?” You questioned.

“I’ve heard a rumor that it only takes one night to fall for me…”

_ Due to personal experience, you didn’t doubt it. _

“Oh yeah, what if I said the same for myself?” You joked.

“I guess we’ll just have to see, Y/L/N.” Frankie challenged.

“I- uhm- gotta go though, my mom wants me to hang up the phone, but I… I look forward to falling in love with you... for the night, of course.”

_ You felt your chest ache at the last part. _

“Right back at you, Morales.”

_ Though you were pretty sure you already had... _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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